Moose Poop and Mosquito Bites

Hello again :)
So, our latest adventure led us to the discovery of a very cute little park practically at the end of our street. The boys and I ventured down there after all the snow had finally melted, thinking it was just a little trail that led down to the creek near our house. Well, there was no creek access, but there was a great little park with swings and a climbing structure and some monkey bars! On our way down this adorable little trail, the great Indian scout in me noticed, MOOSE POOP!! Yup, 2 piles. But of course, no moose. That's alright, I'm getting closer. You must be very, very sneaky to hunt these wiley creatures. NOT! Apparently, you can practically jump on and ride the darn things bareback if you see one, but first things first, you have to find one. (Disclaimer: My husband informs me you cannot ride them bareback, in fact, I am to stay very far away as they tend to charge people if they feel threatened. Like little 5-foot me is going to threaten a ginormous moose!).

While down there observing my offspring at play I also encountered my first Alaskan state bird, the mosquito. They are not joking people, these things will carry you off into the bush! I believe this because it is not yet May and this mosquito was already easily 5 times the size of mosquitos in Montana. I've read that as the total hours of sunlight increase, so does the size of the mosquitos. As we approach June 21st, which has approximately 20 hours of sunlight, the mosquitos will just get bigger and bigger and bigger! AHHHHHH! He's got me!! Just joking, had you going there though didn't I? :-)

Well, that's all for now folks.
P.S. If you have any extra mosquito netting lying around, send it our way!
J~

It's A Small World After All

Well, we've officially been here a month now and there is no way we could be lonely because we are surrounded by Montanans! Get this, one of the tellers at our bank is from Great Falls, the check-out lady at Walmart - Glendive! And our neighbor down the street, Bigfork! Just about anyone you talk to is either from Montana, has been to Montana or knows someone from Montana. In fact, Dust and I were laughing at how we get the same 3 questions every time we tell someone where we've moved from: 1) "Oh, what part of Montana?" 2) "Where in western Montana?" 3) "Do you know so and so?"

I told Dust it is my theory that Montanans transplant well here (especially western Montanans, definitely the hardiest of all Montana breeds!) because it's very similar in climate and terrain. I hope all of you get a chance to see it at some point!
J~

Breaking Up Is Hard To Do

Down in the lower 48 they call it Spring. Here in Alaska it's called Break-Up. This "season" consists of varying temperatures anywhere from 20 to 45 degrees (at least in our part of the state) during the day, occasional snow, ice flow jams and a lot of mud. They even have a state-wide raffle on the exact time the Nenana river will start cracking and popping, down to the minute!

In the spirit of Break-Up Walmart puts out an extensive collection of irrigating boots (wee boots for those of you in the know!) and just about everybody wears them just about everywhere. I've seen ladies in really nice skirts with their rubber boots on!

Walmart also starts putting out all of the Garden Center stuff. This seems to be eagerly anticipated by a large number of people, even though they can't really plant anything for another 2 months, and they have exactly 31 days to grow it in!! That's a slight exaggeration, but not by much! Most yards have a greenhouse as the summer temperatures aren't consistently warm enough to grow any of the stuff that needs a lot of heat. However, if you're into peas, spinach, cabbage and other "cold-weather veggies" this is the place to be!

Well, I hope this finds you all enjoying Spring. May your buds grow big and prosper!
J~

Well, I'll be damned!

*&($%^!!! I finally saw a moose! And you will not believe where it was either. Right along the highway/interstate IN ANCHORAGE!! He was just standing there eating as if he was right out in the middle of nowhere, cars whizzing by at 60 to 70 mph. What a relief, I was beginning to think I was some kind of moose repellant. Happy Easter everyone! :)
J~

Whole lotta shakin' goin' on!

This is Noah expressing his surprise. If he could talk he'd say, "Oh my God! Did you feel that?!"

For those of you who need a refresher course in Earth Science, let me share this with you. Beautiful mountain ranges are made by.......that's right folks! Earthquakes!!

Picture it...Alaska....2009. I'm standing here in my living room talking to Dust and all of a sudden a huge boom, like a ginormous gunshot, goes off and my whole house starts shaking. It lasted maybe 20 seconds. No damage to the house (I bet they build for that sort of thing up here), and true to Alaskan form, I'll go pull my laundry out of the dryer and continue on with my day as if nothing has happened!

J~

Another Gorgeous Day

When my son Austin was about 3 years old he would wake up every morning, rain or shine, spread his little hands just like a preacher talking to God and declare it, "another gorgeous day!" I was thinking of this just this afternoon as we took a Sunday drive and the sky was a beautiful blue, mountains snowy white and the sun shining brightly. Crisp and clear my friends, very gorgeous. We were out looking for the propane "pad" where Dustin will be working. It was a great excuse to see a little bit of the countryside outside of Wasilla. It's not too far out of town and it's right on the highway, so it should be a quick trip for him each morning. About like it was to drive from our home in Stevensville to Hamilton when he was working there. Well, hope you all enjoyed, "another gorgeous day" also and have a great week! :-)
J~

The Mysterious and Mystical Moose

I'm sure you've all heard a lot about how people in Alaska see moose in their backyard all the time or wandering around downtown. In fact, my husband assures me this is truly a regular occurrance and that he just saw 5 the other night out at his mother's. However, I would like to expose it for the lie that it is!! I have been in Alaska for 3 weeks now and have not seen one single moose! Not one! I anxiously await my first sighting of Bullwinkle and have even squeezed in an extra run or two in hopes of catching a glimpse. Alas, he eludes me. I have a sneaking suspicion that with my luck, the first moose I see will be lying across the hood of my car and some smart-aleck game warden will say something like, "well I'll be damned! That's the biggest moose I've ever seen.... I don't know how you could have not seen it!"
Love,
Mooseless in Alaska